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Chapter 4
Arbiters Brief After their encounter with a heavily armed military group the Guardians started to notice that they were being surveilled. Millie contacted Vaughn to see if he could help them lay low for a bit and he came through with a good parking spot. Afterward he introduced the girls to a character name Shiri, who works for the city's animal control dept. She told them about a horrific scene involving a dead body apparently killed by an animal with bear sized claws, at a by-the-hour hotel on Hastings street. Vaughn also gave them the number of contact that could help them out with "supplies", someone named Tracy. He asked that they wait a couple days before contacting Tracy so that he could give him the heads up first. Fong continued training them in small works lore. Merle Went a night without sleep. Big threats clearly mean I need to rise to the occasion. I'm focused on my training. Working hard, eating right. I'll catch up on sleep as soon as I can, but part of being a Grunt is being ready for anything. The military thing didn't work out for me but I can still put that potential to work. So now I've improved my Athletics ability and put on some real Combat Bulk, my chances of survival are significantly increased. Bulking up. Practicing some knife skills too. Still not quite where I want to be but making progress. There's a lot we don't know about what's going on. I spent some time combing used bookstores with Millie. Picked up an odd little treasure: a translated journal of 12th c. monster hunter William of Newburgh. Could be a useful resource in future. I think Millie found some good stuff as well. Also my military buddy Frank hooked me up with the name and contact information for a martial arts trainer: Emil, a krav magra guy. I haven't contacted him yet. Frank and I are going to meet at the end of next week, when he's on furlough, and I can ask him then about help with acquiring hard-to-get stuff like ammo. We're training midnights with Fong. He's an odd one. I'm showing him respect and trying to absorb his lessons. I don't quite get what it all means yet but I think he's building towards an ability to sense or notice nuances that escape most people. Oh, and cocaine's a hell of a drug. J-Dog Nice to get caught up on my sleep finally, not sure why Fong has to train us at midnight, or what he's actually on about, or why Mason sent us to see him in the first place, really... Also not sure what's up with the Black Suburban with the tinted windows across the street from the hotel or the drone circling overhead, probably nothing, and certainly nothing to do with those crazy XRD guys who called us junior monster hunters last night. We'll show them how right they are! I mean really, we will, they're so right... This shit is crizazy, I gotta bulk up, get hard, focus my brain. A few 4 hour blocks of hitting myself in the face, running repeatedly into walls and standing in the freezing november rain should do the trick, but first I need to meditate and recharge my mystic potential. David would be proud, it took him so long to teach me, I was such a terrible student... I'll leave a fetish behind the side-table at the hotel, someone will enjoy finding it later! OK, too much procrastinating, we should check out the site of the fire that killed the Pedo-Timmy. These kids know what's what I bet. Of course they did, lets check out the ruble. We'll need to fully commit before spawning the Evil? Yup there it is. MYSTIC SKIN FETISH / COLD IRON, BITCH! Millie Some of the others stayed up all night training but I needed sleep. During that fiasco in the sewers, I felt like I was moving in slow motion so I started running again. It’s funny, I used to run when I was younger but something having your life in danger really focuses the mind. I feel like I’m getting real results now! I also went book shopping with Merle and found an old book called an Observational Guide to Debilitative Incantations some Jesuit priest named Samuel Collard. It's pretty much fearmongering but he makes some good notes about the different effects of some hexes and how to spot them. We noticed a black escalade outside our motel and started getting suspicious(er). I figure they’re tracking our Jimmy Casa Grande so I gave Vaughn a call to see if he could help us out. Sure enough, Vaughn found a nice shady parking spot and then took us out day drinking (classic Vaughn!). I was feeling pretty good - shit I think the last time I saw Vaughn, I hadn’t showered for days and was covered in some pretty nasty bruises. Of course, Vaughn brought out the coke and of course I had to have some - big mistake! Did I somehow forget I’m basically a fainting goat around drugs? Getting old sucks. Anyway, I hinted to Vaughn about what we involved with and he picked up on it right away. That’s kind of scary. Might be worth following up with him to see what else he knows… or who else. We’ve been meeting Fong at night and listening to his stories but they don’t really make sense. It seems like he’s talking around what he actually wants to say until it all came together. I need a spirit animal to help focus my energy. When I was younger, I would have been confused by this but it’s so clear to me now: it’s a cat. I remember I used to think I had a bond with crows or squirrels but only cats have that mix of mischief and independence. Cats have always hated me and now I see why, it’s like we're in competition. Charlotte I feel much better after a good night's sleep but I can't help feel like I've wasted the time sleeping when I could be online hacking or gaming. These are the concessions we make for the weakness of flesh. If only I was a pure digital being who could operate 24/7. When the Singularity happens - sign me up! At least I got a solid day of hacking in. I feel much more confident in my abilities now. If this was a movie then we'd see a cheezy computer animated gate opening up with a vast cyber vista beyond awaiting my attention. That whole sewer thing really sucked - should I have focused on my survivability instead? I'm better with guns and a bit tougher from the experience but if I'm to get better I need to find someone to show me the ropes. The alumni of the tech colleges may be a source but most of them are washed out or failures who can do little more than impress novices with jargon and puffed-up stories of their past success. But I digress... I arranged to meet up with Zephr on Saturday night. It feels like ages since I saw my BFF. Am I going to tell her about all the crazy shit that's happened in the last few days? I'd hate to put her in danger by involving her. Would she even believe me? We don't keep any secrets from each other - I'm totally going to tell her. Maybe. Coke is a hell of a drug. I've never felt more aware or alive. The only thing that matched it was the feeling that followed. I can't believe I almost fucking died! I'm totally sticking to weed from now on. Yeah, right. This Fong guy is kind of an a-hole. I'm not real good with authority at the best of times. If my life didn't literally depend on playing nice I totally would have been like "Ok, boomer" and walked out with both middle fingers in the air. Looking forward to the tattoo's, though! Is Princess Leia a viable 'spirit animal'? If not, it's totally "Pinkie Pie" - she rules. Going to the burnt remains of the club was a logical clue to follow-up. However, I'm not a big fan of getting dirty. Why couldn't we be investigating a spa with complimentary facial/massages? That's more my kind of lead. I'm really glad the two dudes in our little group have buffed up. They can do the dirty work this time. I'll provide support (mostly moral). Category:Guardians